Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore will try to invoke some of the Harry Potter franchise’s past magic as the major title opening at UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend.
The Secrets Of Dumbledore – the third film in the Fantastic Beasts spin-off series – will open in 716 locations, the widest-ever opening for Warner Bros, topping the 709 of The Batman from last month.
It is the eighth-widest opening of all time, just behind the 718 sites of Disney’s Death On The Nile from February.
The previous two Fantastic Beasts films opened in 669 (2016’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them) and 677 (2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald) locations.
The first film scored a huge £15.3m three-day weekend, at an average of £22,881 per location, while Grindelwald wasn’t far behind, with £12.3m for a £18,141 site average.
The original eight-film Harry Potter series was a repeated box office draw, with the first (The Philosopher’s Stone, opened: £16.1m; closed: £65.8m) and last (The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, £23.7m; £73.1m) films as the peaks.
With every film in the series grossing at least £46m and landing in the top 15 highest-grossing films ever in the territory at the time of release, the entire series grossed £442.7m in the UK (and £531.4m including the two Fantastic Beasts films).
All this points to a solid fanbase for The Secrets Of Dumbledore. However, there are reasons for Warner Bros to be cautious, namely lukewarm reviews; a troubled production history for this instalment including the departure of Johnny Depp prior to filming in November 2020; and criticisms of JK Rowling’s views regarding gender identity.
In the third film, magizoologist (a zoologist for magic animals) Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is sent by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) on a dangerous mission leading a team to stop Grindelwald seizing control of the wizarding world. Mads Mikkelsen takes on Depp’s role as Grindelwald, while Katherine Waterston joins Redmayne and Law as returning cast.
Festival releases
Graham Moore’s tailoring thriller The Outfit is one of several festival titles opening this weekend, in 156 sites through Universal.
The film debuted as a Berlinale Special title in Berlin this year; it is the directorial debut of The Imitation Game writer Moore, and stars Mark Rylance as an expert tailor who must outwit a group of mobsters to survive a fateful night.
After a lengthy career on the stage, Rylance has emerged in the last decade as a star of the screen too, through his Oscar-winning turn in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies (opened: £1.7m; closed: £8.3m) right through to recent eOne release The Phantom Of The Open, which topped £1.5m this week.
Curzon is debuting Cannes 2021 Competition Grand Prix winnerCompartment No. 6 in 30 locations. It is the second feature from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen, after 2017’s The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki, which Mubi released to £26,446.
Compartment No. 6 follows two strangers on a train towards the arctic circle, who change their perspectives on life over the course of the journey. The film was in the running for international feature prizes in the recent awards season with nominations at the Bifas, Golden Globes and Cesars.
Modern Films is opening Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Murina in 16 locations, with four director Q&As this weekend and an expansion to 30 sites already in place for week two.
Kusijanovic’s debut feature started in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last year, with the filmmaker attending the festival while 38 weeks pregnant.
Starring EFP shooting star Gracija Filipovic, Murina centres on a teenage girl who decides to replace her controlling father with his wealthy foreign friend during a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea.
Another Cannes 2021 title, Laura Samani’s Critics’ Week pick Small Body, receives a 10-location release through newly-launched distributor Other Parties.
Samani’s debut, about a young woman on a desperate journey to reach a mysterious sanctuary, has picked up multiple festival prizes including a special mention in the Sutherland award at the BFI London Film Festival.
Fresh from an excellent opening two weeks for The Worst Person In The World, Mubi has Tatiana Huezo’s Mexican drama Prayers For The Stolen, about a town at war seen through the eyes of three girls on the path to adolescence.
The film won a special mention in Un Certain Regard at Cannes last year, and was Mexico’s entry for the best international feature Oscar this year, making the shortlist.
It is a third feature for Huezo; she was previously her country’s Oscar representative with documentary Tempestad in 2017.
Following three Oscar wins including best picture at the end of March, Apple Original Films is re-releasing Coda through BFI Distribution. The film will play in 150 cinemas in the UK and Ireland across April.
Dreamz Entertainment is looking to follow up the success of S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR with Kiran Korrapati’s boxing drama Ghani in 43 sites.
Further releases include Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s latest documentary Julia, about cookbook author Julia Child, in eight sites through Sony; Kate Dolan’s housing estate horror You Are Not My Mother in three sites through Signature Entertainment; and music documentary All I Can Say through Bulldog Film Distribution.
Key holdovers include Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which raced to £5m on its opening weekend for Paramount; Sony’s comic-book adaptation Morbius; and Universal animation The Bad Guys.
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